Columbia N3A, moored at Pearson, June 1973. Pearson Field's history dates back to the early 1900s and is named for local resident
First Lieutenant Alexander Pearson Jr. of the
United States Army. ; 1905 :
Lincoln Beachey pilots his
Baldwin airship from the grounds of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition on the shores of
Guild's Lake in
Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver Barracks, a distance of approximately 8 miles, in the first aerial crossing of the
Columbia River. Beachey also set an endurance record for flight at the time. Carrying a letter from Theodore Hardee, an official of the fair, to the commandant of the Vancouver Barracks, General Constant Williams, the flight is also recognized as the first time an airship is used to deliver a letter. ; 1911 : First airplane lands at Pearson Field. ; 1912 : A homebuilt aircraft built onsite becomes the first aircraft departure. ; 1923–1941 : Pearson Field is home to the US Army Air Service. ; 1923 : Commander Lt.
Oakley G. Kelly makes the first non-stop transcontinental flight. ; 1924 : Pearson Field is a stopover point on the army's first
round-the-world flight. ; 1925 : Pearson Field is named after Lt. Alexander Pearson by order of Major General
John L. Hines. On 16 September 1925, during the inauguration of Pearson Field, in front of 20,000 spectators and against 53 competitor pilots,
Edith Foltz won the
dead-stick landing competition. ; 1937 : Soviet aviator
Valery Chkalov lands at the end of the first non-stop transpolar flight. ; 1975 :
Chkalov monument dedicated. ; 1994 : City of Vancouver and National Park Service enter into agreement governing the future of Pearson Field. ; 2005 : Pearson Field celebrates its 100-year anniversary. ; 2012 : Pearson Field receives AIAA historic aerospace site designation. ; 2015 : AIAA monument placed. ; 2016 : Former State Representative
John McKibbin, along with Irene Mustain, depart from the field; their plane crashes in the
Columbia River. == Facilities and aircraft ==